Underreamer



w. c. CUTLER. j

UNDERHEAMER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 9., 1920.

Patented Dec. 21, 1920.

77/24 dNVENTOR WILLIAM C. CUTLER, OF NORTH GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA.

UNDERREAMER.

' Specification of Letters Patent. .Patented D 21 1920 7 Application filed January 9, 1920. Serial No. 350,423.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. CUTLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at North Glendale, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Underreamer, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for under-reaming below the casing in a well to allow such casing to go deeper into a well beyond the point obtained by common or other Well'drilling tools before the casing had been inserted into the well without having to withdraw such casing for further drilling with such other tools.

One object of this invention is to provide a simple under-reaming tool.

Another object is to allow an exchanging of the cutting or under-reaming bits or members one by one without having to take apart the whole reamer, one of the hits at least always remaining in proper engagement with the body of the reamer while another of the bits may easily be exchanged.

Another object is to securely interlock the under-reaming members with the body in operating position as well as in collapsed position so that the members can easily swing from operating (that is expanded) position to collapsed position and back.

Another object is to provide for a disengaging of the under-reaming members from the body of the device in such a position only which the members are not likely to take during the operation in a well.

Another object is to provide interlocking means between the under-reaming members and the body of the device which in their turn are interlocked within the device by such interlocking procured thereby.

Other objects will appear from the following description and appended claims as well as from the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal midsection through'the operating portion of the device.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one of the under-reaming members of the device.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatical illustration of the interlocking of the several parts within the device.

Fig. 4: is a detail fragmentary sectional View of the interlocking portions of the body and reaming members with the spacmg member between at about right angles to the sectional view in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation of the lower end of the interlocking member.

F 1g. 6 1s a detail side elevation of the upper end of the interlocking member.

The body 5 and the reaming members 6 and 7 correspond to, and are practically equivalents of the body 1 and the cutters 5 and 6 of similar devices disclosed in my Patent No. 1,239,087, filed March 6, 1917, Serlal No. 152,855. This body 5 and the members 6 and 7 naturally operate in a similar manner and are for a similar purpose as described and disclosed in the previous application.

The body 5 i provided with a concentric bore 8 having a suitably enlarged pocket 9 near the lower end within the body so as to form an annular shoulder 10.

The reaming members 6 and 7 are provided with a neck-end 11 fitting within the lower bore 12 in the'body below the annular shoulder 10, and are provided with a pro- ]ecting portion 13, see also Fig. 4, above the neck 11 to engage i over the shoulder 10 1n the body. These upper portions, being normally within the body, are so proportioned and designedthat they will not fully take up the space in the bore 12, the proectlng portions 13 and the annular shoulder l0 being even preferably slightly of less width than the width of the space 14 between the reaming members when properly engaged within the body as described above.

An interlocking member is then necessary to maintain itself in the space 14 between the reaming members 6 and 7 to keep the reaming members so engaged within the body. I prefer a simple round pin 15 for the material of the interlocking member since it requires the simplest way of machining, but it will easily be understood that other means can be provided which will do just as well as long as such means keep the reaming members separated in a similar manner and engaged over the shoulder 10 of the body 5. I

The interlocking or separating member 15 is therefore preferably of a fiat or other similar suitable shape at its lower end 16, see Fig. 4 in connection with Fig. 1, so as to keep the reaming members 6 and 7 evenly spaced for their oscillating movement within the body.

To hold the separating pin 15 locked and engaged between the reaming members during the operations of the reaming members within the body, thereby insuring an interlocking of the reaming members within the body during such operations, the pin 15 is provided with bosses 17 and 18 near the lower end of the pin. These bosses engage within the recesses 19 and 20 of the reaming members 6 and 7. A diagrammatical outline of these recesses is illustrated in Fig. 3 to show the relation of the recesses in the opposing faces in the reaming memhers-to such interlocking of the whole device, the Fig. 3 illustrating the relative position of the recesses in the opposite faces while the reaming members 6 and 7 are in operative position. During such operation of the reaming members 6 and 7 the pressure in a well naturally occurs in an upwardly direction against the reaming members so as to not only hold the reaming members in the positions illustrated in Fig. 1, but even to bring the reaming members to such a position. Bringing to and holding the reaming members in such expanded position within the body naturally means the locating of the recesses 19 and 20 in the positions illustrated in Fig. 3, which in turn means the locking of the pin 15 between the reaming members, which furthermore in turn means the interlocking of the reaming members with the body swingably in relation to the body.

The spring 21 and the washer 22 serve to normally hold the reaming members in such an expanded position within the body.

The pin 15, the spring 21, and the washer 22 are disposed within the bore of the body, then one reaming member inserted into the same bore below the other parts and against the tension of the spring 21 until the pro jecting portion 13 of the reaming member engages over the shoulder 10 of the body within the bore. By such engaging of the reaming member within the bore of the body, the other parts and the reaming member are firmly held within the bore. The second reaming member can then easily he slipped into the bore of the body beside the first inserted reaming member, since, as described above, the reaming members are so proportioned that a space is left between them after being properly engaged within the body, that is that the projecting portion 13 of the second reaming member will easily pass beside the first inserted and already engaged reaming member. If the reaming members are then moved to near the collapsed position indicated at 23 in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the pin with the bosses 17 and 18 will then easily slip between the reaming members and into the recesses 19 and 20, at which time or moment the reaming members are released to be moved into the expanded position by the spring 21.

In Fig. 2 of the drawing, the line 24 is the center line concentric in the whole device with the reaming members engaged within the body in operating and expanded,

position, and the center-line 25 of the recess 20 indicates the relative position of this recess to allow for an engaging and a disengaging of-the pin 15 while the recess is in concentric position to the body, showing that the points 26 of the reaming members can practically come together during the collapsed position of the reaming members and during the engaging and disengaging of the pin 15. It will, however, easily be understood that the recess 20 can be provided at an angle slightly less than illustrated to provide for a space between the points 26, so as to allow a suitable tool or piece to be inserted between the reaming members for pushing out of engagement the pin 15 for taking the whole device apart. The reamer can then naturally only be taken apart in the position of the reaming members bringing the recess concentric to the center line of the reamer body, as will easily be understood.

To assure certain and precise actions of the pin 15, especially when assembling this tool, it is of course advantageous to provide the pin with a reduced end 27 to form a shoulder 28 on the upper end of the pin so that a small spring 29 may rest on the pin for pressing the pin into the space between the two reaming members, see Fig. 6, to bring the bosses 17 and 18 quickly into correct centering position in relation to the reaming members and especially within the recesses 19 and 20.

The lower end of the pin is also'advantageously designed squarely to the body of the pin as illustrated in Fig. 5 to form the edges 30 and 31. These edges will naturally come to ride one on each of the reaming members in case that the pin is not in a position to slip between the reaming members, which is naturally very often thecase. In such a position, the pin cannot drop in between the reaming members unless thepin is turned so that the flat end 16 of the pin comes in alinement with the space between the reaming members. To bring the reaming members from any such other position into proper position that the pin may drop between, if crosswise or just a little off the correct position does not matter, the reaming members are worked in scissor-like actions thereby causing the oneedge 30 to ride on the inclined top (eventually like the top of the member illustrated in Fig. 2) of one member while the other edge 31' comes to ride on the top surface of the other reaming member (that is naturally in an opposite direction inclined) so as to cause a turning of the pin through the sliding downwardly of the edges 30 and 31 along the oppositely inclined surfaces of the oppositely working reaming members.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an underreamer, a body having a recessed bore, reaming members having means for swingably engaging with the body within the recessed bore of the body being spaced when so engaged and each of the reaming members having a recess in the face opposing the other reaming member extending upwardly from the center of the swinging point of the reaming members, and an interlocking member fitting in the space between the reaming members for locking the reaming members swingably within the bore of the body-and having bosses on the opposite sides for engaging in the recesses in the opposite reaming mem here for locking the interlocking member between the reaming members.

2. In an underreamer, a body having a recessed bore, reaming members having means for swingably engaging with the body within the recessed bore of the body being spaced when so engaged and each of the reaming members having a recess in the face opposing the other reaming member, the recesses being elongated from the center of the swinging point of the reaming members upwardly at an angle to the concentric line through the whole device, and an interlocking member fitting in the space between the reaming members for locking the reaming members swingably within the bore of the body and having bosses for engaging in the recesses of the opposing reammg membore for locking the interlocking member between the reaming members adapted to disengage from such interlocking position only in a suitably collapsed positlon of the reaming members within the body.

3. In an underreamer, in combination with a body and reaming members swingably engaging with the body in operating position being spaced in such operating position, a spacing pin disposed in the body having a flattened end to fit between the reaming members to remain stationary when the reaming members are in such swinging operative position within the body and having means on the opposite end for receiving a spring for bringing the spacing pin into such stationary position and for holding it there.

4. In an underreamer, in combination with a body and reaming members swingably engaging with the body in operating position being spaced in such operating position and having recesses in the opposing faces in the reaming members extending from the center of the swinging point upwardly, a spacing pin disposed in the body having a flattened end to fit between the reaming members to remain stationary when the reaming members are in such swinging operative position within the body and having means on the opposite sides to engage within the recesses of the reaming members for locking the pin between the reaming members in such stationary position while the reaming members can freely swing within the body.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM C. CUTLER.

Witnesses:

Gno. H. HRUELMAN, J. B. TABOUR. 

